Recollé Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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repeter2019-01-17 05:32 pm
recollecters) wrote in repeter2019-01-17 05:32 pm
(no subject)
EVENT + TDM
PREMISE • RULES • FAQ • TAKEN • RESERVES • APPLICATIONS
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV
I. - CURRENT PLAYERS + TDMERS
It's been days since the firewall took over the city of Recollé. The heat is still present even in mid-January and though the wall has consumed much of the outer edges of the city, the buildings and innerworkings of each district are unaffected and still standing tall. Firefighters are working endlessly to try and put out the flames and combat the issue, but the flames only begin to lessen as Retrospec users work together to curb the fire and stop it from spreadng.
This might be the time to jump in and help. Previously, you may have tried to help and found your efforts futile. Those new to the app may even have found themselves thinking the flames were best left to the professionals once the assessment was made that there would be minimal damage. However, there seems to be a power tied to that new app on your phone. Should you attempt to help put out the flames, your efforts shall be rewarded and a pathway will open into a tunnel of fire with a series of doors spread before you.
With many of you finding your way through the firewall and unlocking the doors within, progress is being made to wear down the security measures. Points in the wall will begin to crumble under touch alone and rows and rows of doors begin to appear. The flames are starting to die down outside, but it becomes clear that it's not just a few chambers you must explore. Several thousands of doors are scattered amongst the flames waiting for you to approach. Luckily you won't have to open all of them. The silver doors loom in the distance, but thanks to the efforts of the last two weeks, identifying the doors is much easier than before.
While several of the doors that have been opened are easy to navigate, users will come to find that as they approach a new door an error message will appear and block the path to the door. These messages will not appear on doors that do not contain keys, though this pattern may not be obvious at first. Sometimes the messages will appear just by walking in any of the cardinal directions inside the fire tunnel, popping up right in front of your face and forcing you to walk straight into them. These pop-ups can be dismantled via physical force or magic, though you may wish to be careful. Anyone who directly touches these messages will find themselves…multiplying? Oh dear. Two, three, or even four copies of yourself will appear and begin to wander off not only in the tunnels but back through the wall and out in the city of Recollé. Users who are split apart will have to round up all versions of themselves to become whole again, and the clones themselves will be more than happy to wander as they please, posing as you and attempting to deter others from progressing. Good luck getting them to stop.
It's been days since the firewall took over the city of Recollé. The heat is still present even in mid-January and though the wall has consumed much of the outer edges of the city, the buildings and innerworkings of each district are unaffected and still standing tall. Firefighters are working endlessly to try and put out the flames and combat the issue, but the flames only begin to lessen as Retrospec users work together to curb the fire and stop it from spreadng.
This might be the time to jump in and help. Previously, you may have tried to help and found your efforts futile. Those new to the app may even have found themselves thinking the flames were best left to the professionals once the assessment was made that there would be minimal damage. However, there seems to be a power tied to that new app on your phone. Should you attempt to help put out the flames, your efforts shall be rewarded and a pathway will open into a tunnel of fire with a series of doors spread before you.
With many of you finding your way through the firewall and unlocking the doors within, progress is being made to wear down the security measures. Points in the wall will begin to crumble under touch alone and rows and rows of doors begin to appear. The flames are starting to die down outside, but it becomes clear that it's not just a few chambers you must explore. Several thousands of doors are scattered amongst the flames waiting for you to approach. Luckily you won't have to open all of them. The silver doors loom in the distance, but thanks to the efforts of the last two weeks, identifying the doors is much easier than before.
While several of the doors that have been opened are easy to navigate, users will come to find that as they approach a new door an error message will appear and block the path to the door. These messages will not appear on doors that do not contain keys, though this pattern may not be obvious at first. Sometimes the messages will appear just by walking in any of the cardinal directions inside the fire tunnel, popping up right in front of your face and forcing you to walk straight into them. These pop-ups can be dismantled via physical force or magic, though you may wish to be careful. Anyone who directly touches these messages will find themselves…multiplying? Oh dear. Two, three, or even four copies of yourself will appear and begin to wander off not only in the tunnels but back through the wall and out in the city of Recollé. Users who are split apart will have to round up all versions of themselves to become whole again, and the clones themselves will be more than happy to wander as they please, posing as you and attempting to deter others from progressing. Good luck getting them to stop.
II. - CURRENT PLAYERS + TDMERS
The pop-ups aren't the only issue users will begin to experience the longer they linger in the wall. As Retrospec users continue navigating these routes and clearing the paths needed to break down the firewall, things begin to grow a little more difficult to manage. Though the passages of the doors appear to be fine and users can enter new areas to obtain keys, it seems as though there's something bigger that wants to stop the progress occurring.
Users with Retrospec-given abilities will find difficulty in using their powers in ways they've never experienced before. Superstrength gives out after two seconds while shapeshifting will leave you stuck in that form for three days. Magic is on the fritz and spells will backfire, kicking back and damaging yourself for every spell you attempt to use. A small ball of light will escape your fingertips, draining you of your abilities and gifting them to someone else temporarily (though they won't know how to control them the way you do.) The trouble with it all is that no method is the same, and even if you experience a glitch once an outside force will change the consequences so they do not repeat.
You may think to check your phone for answers. Can you Google how to fix your own powers? While a search engine won't be of any use, users will find that the Retrospec app's logo has a new, upgraded appearance. Five of the eight inner petals have will appear gray in color while the remaining three are untouched. A sixth petal is colored halfway in. Should a user activate the app while in the city, they will find that everything around them will pause in a freezeframe. Birds will stop mid-flight, cars will be stopped in the middle of intersections, firehoses will have frozen arches of water aimed to the flames…everything is perfectly still save for other users.
As for those who activate the app inside the firewall, time will become fluid and change around you. Everything seems to move at hyperspeed, actions on fast-forward and time skipping ahead. Your actions will also be at the speed of light, and should you manage to accomplish your goals inside the wall and beyond the doors, a return to the city will show that much more time has passed than you anticipated. Hours or even days have escaped you even if it felt like no time at all.
With some trial and error, users can discover that a hard reset of their phone and re-opening the app will undo these effects. However, it may not be so easy seeing how the app will appear and disappear intermittently. Be quick; you may miss it if you blink.
The pop-ups aren't the only issue users will begin to experience the longer they linger in the wall. As Retrospec users continue navigating these routes and clearing the paths needed to break down the firewall, things begin to grow a little more difficult to manage. Though the passages of the doors appear to be fine and users can enter new areas to obtain keys, it seems as though there's something bigger that wants to stop the progress occurring.
Users with Retrospec-given abilities will find difficulty in using their powers in ways they've never experienced before. Superstrength gives out after two seconds while shapeshifting will leave you stuck in that form for three days. Magic is on the fritz and spells will backfire, kicking back and damaging yourself for every spell you attempt to use. A small ball of light will escape your fingertips, draining you of your abilities and gifting them to someone else temporarily (though they won't know how to control them the way you do.) The trouble with it all is that no method is the same, and even if you experience a glitch once an outside force will change the consequences so they do not repeat.
You may think to check your phone for answers. Can you Google how to fix your own powers? While a search engine won't be of any use, users will find that the Retrospec app's logo has a new, upgraded appearance. Five of the eight inner petals have will appear gray in color while the remaining three are untouched. A sixth petal is colored halfway in. Should a user activate the app while in the city, they will find that everything around them will pause in a freezeframe. Birds will stop mid-flight, cars will be stopped in the middle of intersections, firehoses will have frozen arches of water aimed to the flames…everything is perfectly still save for other users.
As for those who activate the app inside the firewall, time will become fluid and change around you. Everything seems to move at hyperspeed, actions on fast-forward and time skipping ahead. Your actions will also be at the speed of light, and should you manage to accomplish your goals inside the wall and beyond the doors, a return to the city will show that much more time has passed than you anticipated. Hours or even days have escaped you even if it felt like no time at all.
With some trial and error, users can discover that a hard reset of their phone and re-opening the app will undo these effects. However, it may not be so easy seeing how the app will appear and disappear intermittently. Be quick; you may miss it if you blink.
III. - CURRENT PLAYERS ONLY
It seems a bit suspicious that Retrospec's gone quiet throughout all of this, doesn't it. There hasn't been word from the company since Joanne's last message about the firewall, and as usual any attempt to contact the company is futile. The message from delta#02018329 on the 13th was the last form of communication from anyone tied to Retrospec and since then all has been quiet. The animal guides from before are hard at work helping users discover new paths and find the keys, knowing they need to work quickly.
On the 24th, the firewall begins coming down in large chunks, falling away and shattering into embers when destroyed by an established user. The wall reveals the lines of doors surrounding the city and as of this date the temperature begins to drop again. Good job, users. You've almost fully dismantled the blockade. However, the wall isn't finished yet.
Beginning on this day as well, established users will become public enemy number one for the operator of the wall. A string of bad luck begins to follow you in an attempt to deter you from finishing your task of destroying this wall. Ranging from small feats such as misplacing your phone to larger feats such as removing all doors and windows from a building you're in, these attempts can be easily broken with enough willpower or simply waiting it out. For the truly unlucky, even NPCs will grow suspicious of you and begin to question you, asking you what's changed about you and why you and only you are the one who can put out the flames when the fire department has been working so hard.
Most importantly, however, are the small showers of green sparks that will appear over the city, sprinkling on you from overhead and dousing you in an invisible sheen. An equally invisible force feels as though it's pulling you down quickly despite standing in one place, and when the feeling passes…well. You may wonder what this strange app is on your phone and why you have it. It's new, isn't it? Wonder what it could be. You've never heard of Retrospec before, you think, but it can't be that interesting.
Perhaps you haven't slipped that far. You may be one of those who finds yourself with gaps in your memory, or items on-hand you don't quite recall having before. Images will flash through your mind even if you can't pinpoint where you've experienced these things before. And, of course, there's the fact that you may even literally slip between layers in the city, entering a door in the firewall and falling down into a plain white room. This washed-out castle-esque hall will make navigation difficult as the doorway to return blends into the walls. It only takes a trick of jogging your memory and recalling your true purpose to outline the door. What does it mean to jog your memory? This can be anything from sharing a memory you don't understand to showing off an item or ability and brainstorming its purpose. You will only understand the truth and remember everything upon leaving this castle, but until then? Time to brainstorm.
It seems a bit suspicious that Retrospec's gone quiet throughout all of this, doesn't it. There hasn't been word from the company since Joanne's last message about the firewall, and as usual any attempt to contact the company is futile. The message from delta#02018329 on the 13th was the last form of communication from anyone tied to Retrospec and since then all has been quiet. The animal guides from before are hard at work helping users discover new paths and find the keys, knowing they need to work quickly.
On the 24th, the firewall begins coming down in large chunks, falling away and shattering into embers when destroyed by an established user. The wall reveals the lines of doors surrounding the city and as of this date the temperature begins to drop again. Good job, users. You've almost fully dismantled the blockade. However, the wall isn't finished yet.
Beginning on this day as well, established users will become public enemy number one for the operator of the wall. A string of bad luck begins to follow you in an attempt to deter you from finishing your task of destroying this wall. Ranging from small feats such as misplacing your phone to larger feats such as removing all doors and windows from a building you're in, these attempts can be easily broken with enough willpower or simply waiting it out. For the truly unlucky, even NPCs will grow suspicious of you and begin to question you, asking you what's changed about you and why you and only you are the one who can put out the flames when the fire department has been working so hard.
Most importantly, however, are the small showers of green sparks that will appear over the city, sprinkling on you from overhead and dousing you in an invisible sheen. An equally invisible force feels as though it's pulling you down quickly despite standing in one place, and when the feeling passes…well. You may wonder what this strange app is on your phone and why you have it. It's new, isn't it? Wonder what it could be. You've never heard of Retrospec before, you think, but it can't be that interesting.
Perhaps you haven't slipped that far. You may be one of those who finds yourself with gaps in your memory, or items on-hand you don't quite recall having before. Images will flash through your mind even if you can't pinpoint where you've experienced these things before. And, of course, there's the fact that you may even literally slip between layers in the city, entering a door in the firewall and falling down into a plain white room. This washed-out castle-esque hall will make navigation difficult as the doorway to return blends into the walls. It only takes a trick of jogging your memory and recalling your true purpose to outline the door. What does it mean to jog your memory? This can be anything from sharing a memory you don't understand to showing off an item or ability and brainstorming its purpose. You will only understand the truth and remember everything upon leaving this castle, but until then? Time to brainstorm.
IV. - TDMERS ONLY
It's a little alarming to suddenly wake up and have a brand new app on your phone that connects you to a special group of people, isn't it? This may not be what you were expecting, but the Retrospec app seems harmless even if it's a bit unusual. With the power necessary to help combat the flames, perhaps you're the type who isn't even worried about what's happening. There's a job to do, after all.
Upon opening the app for the first time though you'll receive a message from a user named Z.C.
You're probably confused right now and I get it, this is really confusing. I was confused, too. But you have to be on-guard. Looks like you're a fresh target.
That's an ominous warning, and yet nothing comes from it for several days. In fact, it isn't until the 25th that those words hold some weight. It seems that there's someone out there who doesn't feel like you belong. No matter where you stand or what's happening for you at that given moment, at the stroke of midnight a large crater will open beneath you and swallow you whole, sending you straight down. The fall feels endless but as you land you'll find yourself standing on barren, gray ground surrounded by a black night sky, spiderweb cracks spreading from the center and moving outward. The world around you is dark and above you you can hear the sounds of the city and the people in it. The sounds of your fellow app-users combatting the wall of fire and even some of the ongoings of what's happening to them beyond the doors echo in this dark chamber.
The space around you is dead. There isn't a single sign of life sans what looks like a large, 80-foot whale skeleton. Even that appears abandoned, though there are footprints in the dirt near the creature's mouth. You aren't the first to arrive, but getting back will be the trick of it all. Someone wants you hidden away, but finding a clever way to reach out to those in the layer beyond will grant you an exit. Shouting, throwing items on hand, anything you can think of to create a diversion and draw attention to yourself may help. The louder you are, the thicker the cracks in the sky grow. It'll take a combination of people working below and people working above to break this barrier. Don't be afraid to reach out. It may be your only way back home.
It's a little alarming to suddenly wake up and have a brand new app on your phone that connects you to a special group of people, isn't it? This may not be what you were expecting, but the Retrospec app seems harmless even if it's a bit unusual. With the power necessary to help combat the flames, perhaps you're the type who isn't even worried about what's happening. There's a job to do, after all.
Upon opening the app for the first time though you'll receive a message from a user named Z.C.
You're probably confused right now and I get it, this is really confusing. I was confused, too. But you have to be on-guard. Looks like you're a fresh target.
That's an ominous warning, and yet nothing comes from it for several days. In fact, it isn't until the 25th that those words hold some weight. It seems that there's someone out there who doesn't feel like you belong. No matter where you stand or what's happening for you at that given moment, at the stroke of midnight a large crater will open beneath you and swallow you whole, sending you straight down. The fall feels endless but as you land you'll find yourself standing on barren, gray ground surrounded by a black night sky, spiderweb cracks spreading from the center and moving outward. The world around you is dark and above you you can hear the sounds of the city and the people in it. The sounds of your fellow app-users combatting the wall of fire and even some of the ongoings of what's happening to them beyond the doors echo in this dark chamber.
The space around you is dead. There isn't a single sign of life sans what looks like a large, 80-foot whale skeleton. Even that appears abandoned, though there are footprints in the dirt near the creature's mouth. You aren't the first to arrive, but getting back will be the trick of it all. Someone wants you hidden away, but finding a clever way to reach out to those in the layer beyond will grant you an exit. Shouting, throwing items on hand, anything you can think of to create a diversion and draw attention to yourself may help. The louder you are, the thicker the cracks in the sky grow. It'll take a combination of people working below and people working above to break this barrier. Don't be afraid to reach out. It may be your only way back home.
BONUS.
The firewall gave a good effort, but in the end the power behind the Retrospec users was too much to sustain it for long…or was it? On the 31st the rest of the firewall seems to crumble and turn into smoke and ash as though the force holding it up cut its losses and quit. Several wolf-shaped figures appear from the smoke and surround the city, spreading ash as far as the eye can see before running off in the direction of Magatus. A sharp crackling noise like glass shattering rings through your ears and the wall and the layer below disappear for good. Congratulations, users. It seems as though you've broken down the barriers standing in your way.
However…there's still the matter of all of this ash and dust to take care of. Grab a broom, a dustbuster or a friend. It's time to do some major clean-up on the city and get it back to normal.
For those who venture to Tisse though, looking up to the very top of the towers will show a set of windows that have been dark and dimmed for several months. As the night wears on, however, the lights begin to flicker on until the entire floor is lit. There isn't any way up to the top of the building just yet, but for every light that comes on it seems that the amount of ash lessens. Is there a correlation? Or is it just someone from above helping you out? Only time will tell.
The firewall gave a good effort, but in the end the power behind the Retrospec users was too much to sustain it for long…or was it? On the 31st the rest of the firewall seems to crumble and turn into smoke and ash as though the force holding it up cut its losses and quit. Several wolf-shaped figures appear from the smoke and surround the city, spreading ash as far as the eye can see before running off in the direction of Magatus. A sharp crackling noise like glass shattering rings through your ears and the wall and the layer below disappear for good. Congratulations, users. It seems as though you've broken down the barriers standing in your way.
However…there's still the matter of all of this ash and dust to take care of. Grab a broom, a dustbuster or a friend. It's time to do some major clean-up on the city and get it back to normal.
For those who venture to Tisse though, looking up to the very top of the towers will show a set of windows that have been dark and dimmed for several months. As the night wears on, however, the lights begin to flicker on until the entire floor is lit. There isn't any way up to the top of the building just yet, but for every light that comes on it seems that the amount of ash lessens. Is there a correlation? Or is it just someone from above helping you out? Only time will tell.
NOTES.
Welcome torecolle's January event part two!
All characters who are TDMing will be begin in-game AU'd as Recollé residents. You may use any of the above prompts for ideas or make up your own depicting your Recollé AU! Prompts do not have to be set in the districts listed above. You can review our list of locations for what's available. Please note that TDM threads can be used as samples, can be kept as game canon, and can also be used for bonus points for future item regains. Share a few minor details of your AU, tag around, and have fun!
If you are TDMing this round, please indicate this by including TDM in your subject line! This will help the playerbase know who is who.
As indicated in the link above for prompt 2, if you would like us to generate a key-tracking scenario for you please sign up at the comment on the first event log!
-For current players, you may claim multiple freebies from this log! These include:
-One freebie memory for threading with a character that is test-driving.
-One freebie memory for combatting the issues occurring in prompts 2+3
-One freebie memory for helping someone else combat the issues occurring in prompts 2+3
All of these threads must have at least five comments from you to be eligible. To submit for your freebie memories, please link us the appropriate thread with the trigger explanation of "freebie."
TDM characters who app in and are accepted before February are also eligible to claim this log's memory freebies! Like current players, please be sure to submit your freebie regain threads before the end of the AC period.
As a special note, we will also allow current players to use a thread from this event/TDM for their AC proofs! As this ties into a game-event, we are making an exception. However, your other proof(s) (at least ten comments) must come from sources outside of this log. Likewise, as this is an event log instead of just a standard TDM, you may use this log to trigger regains as normal.
Finally, be sure to check out January's AU workshop if you haven't yet! Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for additional information as well!
Welcome to
recolle's January event part two!All characters who are TDMing will be begin in-game AU'd as Recollé residents. You may use any of the above prompts for ideas or make up your own depicting your Recollé AU! Prompts do not have to be set in the districts listed above. You can review our list of locations for what's available. Please note that TDM threads can be used as samples, can be kept as game canon, and can also be used for bonus points for future item regains. Share a few minor details of your AU, tag around, and have fun!
If you are TDMing this round, please indicate this by including TDM in your subject line! This will help the playerbase know who is who.
As indicated in the link above for prompt 2, if you would like us to generate a key-tracking scenario for you please sign up at the comment on the first event log!
-For current players, you may claim multiple freebies from this log! These include:
-One freebie memory for threading with a character that is test-driving.
-One freebie memory for combatting the issues occurring in prompts 2+3
-One freebie memory for helping someone else combat the issues occurring in prompts 2+3
All of these threads must have at least five comments from you to be eligible. To submit for your freebie memories, please link us the appropriate thread with the trigger explanation of "freebie."
TDM characters who app in and are accepted before February are also eligible to claim this log's memory freebies! Like current players, please be sure to submit your freebie regain threads before the end of the AC period.
As a special note, we will also allow current players to use a thread from this event/TDM for their AC proofs! As this ties into a game-event, we are making an exception. However, your other proof(s) (at least ten comments) must come from sources outside of this log. Likewise, as this is an event log instead of just a standard TDM, you may use this log to trigger regains as normal.
Finally, be sure to check out January's AU workshop if you haven't yet! Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for additional information as well!
ii
a ball of light hits him, a little ball. but what startled him most were the two separate balls circling a much larger one that comes from him as well, a slightly different color but they’re in the same range of what all the same.
three balls? and the one from lina?
there’s a disturbance inside him, one that he feels much too oddly without. the attack titan was his since he was a child, and its influence on a shifter is a great one: the titan that always, always seeks freedom. the oldest one is dormant, while the other is too fresh. there’re many things that come with the titans. there’s autoregeneration, there’s shifting, there’s crystallizing, creation, but the worst of them: a shortened life span and memories that no one would want.
when he begins to understand that whatever came out of him was with lina now, his face instantly twists into the same desperation. maybe even more than just desperation because shit retrospec only fixed the curse for him, and— and everything else. ]
How do I— [ he grasps lina’s shoulders because, he’s scared to death right now, but he might grasp harder than he realizes. ] We have to, you can’t have those!
[ it’s not a matter of greed— she doesn’t need to suffer and eren swore he wouldn’t let anyone else but himself suffer with this the more they got worse. ]
no subject
[she doesn't have her muscles anymore (she doesn't have anything afforded to her by Retrospec except her eyes and hair and lack of humanity and without the strength what does it matter) so she can't get far along that path, even though she's. uncomfortable. getting angry about it? she's not sure. her eyes go wide when she realizes just how weak she feels, though; she hates it, but not in a violent, outward way. good news, Eren.]
Let go! [and she sounds insecure in ways that aren't brand new to her but might as well be.] I don't want them, I want mine back! How do we fix it?
no subject
I know, I—!
[ no one would want what he had if they knew what it was, but eren was fairly prone to outbursts, negative or positive. he doesn’t mean to act oddly or attack her or anything, but. he’s shaking a little when he keeps his hands to himself.
deep breaths. ]
I don’t know, I don’t . . . [ eren holds his hands up, not touching her, but— ] Lina, just don’t hurt yourself. We’ll find something, [ he’s looking around rather desperately, but eren doesn’t know what. if this is like the body swap that happened, will they have to wait it out? god. ] I’m not going anywhere.
[ if that gives some sort of comfort. her power is right there. ]
no subject
[oh this is bad. her hands go up to grip her arms, an X over her chest, and if only this were the time to theatrically mourn the loss of her muscles. if only this were something funny happening. her brain is starting to come into focus and there's... there's other things bouncing around in there now, other—forms? shapes? she can't. she can't keep it straight in her mind. before she starts freaking out too badly about it, she does remember that Eren is right here, that he's not going anywhere, that he can help her if she needs the help.]
What did I take from you?
[the question makes her stomach ache.]
no subject
[ he makes sure that’s a point, because taking it from him implies that she did so by force. she has nothing to do with his desperation or what slipped from him by some odd . . . glitch. he reaches for his phone in his pocket, because maybe there’s a lead, he doesn’t know. ]
I’m guessing . . . Three titans.
no subject
[she knows one. at least one; she has to assume the one she has faint memories of during the Armaros fight is the same as the one she's trying her best not to remember from Halloween.]
I don't want to use them. [she doesn't even want them. they aren't hers. (they aren't anyone's.) her hands ball up and for once she's not worried about making herself bleed with her fingernails. the titans deserve to be
with the p░rson they b▒lo▒g tofree.] I don't... they aren't mine.no subject
[ checking the app is the first thing, certainly that comes to mind, but as eren shifts through the modules and tabs, the contacts and any waiting posts, everything stops. it might be hard to notice that everything has paused, but perhaps the bird that’s in mid flight by their side, to catch a mid air insect, is stuck in time as well.
he shouldn’t tell her. it would freak her out more. eren clicks his tongue when he doesn’t seem to find anything in the post, and shakes his head. why her? why anyone? ]
You had enough to worry about.
no subject
[she might have this urge inside her, this urge for freedom that's getting harder to ignore the more she stands here and talks about it, but she's still. she's still going to be thinking of others first.]
I don't know if my strength is the only thing you got. I don't know if you're an Intoner right now, and I don't... want to think about that too hard. [she's pleading with him through her stare and shutting out the rest of the world.] Does the app say anything?
no subject
Nothing recent enough—
[ ah. mm.
now that bird shouldn’t be there. eren taps at lina’s arm to get her attention to look, but it might feel.
like a slap, i’m sorry ]
no subject
Ow! What was that for?
[he's got her attention instead of the world around them, and it's like she has blinders on.]
no subject
eren jolts his hand back to him and smacks his forehead, to tell himself that he’s a dumbass, but fuck if he nearly doesn’t give himself a concussion. his head whips back at the smack, and he nearly falls backwards. ]
I didn’t mean— shit, [ ow ] Look around!
no subject
Who... what happened? Did this happen when you tried to open the app?
no subject
Remind me not to touch you, [ he says, and with a quiet mutter: ] How’d you measure your strength? Shit—
no subject
One time I pulled Jen out of the sky without even trying. And the last time I got stronger, I could punch a training dummy across the entire arena. I don't know how strong I really am, or how strong Two could get. I just know it's a lot more than a human should be able to do.
[which makes sense. she's not one anymore. and without her strength, she doesn't feel like anything right now.]
What's inside me right now?
no subject
Why?
[ he already answered her. she’s asking deeper. ]
no subject
Because I want to know what my brother is living with.
[it's not the entire truth, but it's close enough to it.]
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to lina, as much as he loves her— he is not ready to tell her, to that extent, what he felt under that power. that under that he was more trapped than he was free. for someone to speak of freedom as much as he did, it was the biggest take at hipocracy. your family is a big, fat mess, isn’t it. ]
Don’t worry about that. Please.
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Easier said than done. [she tries to force a smile to her face like it's something she can just put up a front to get away from. just like everything else.] I'm going to worry about you no matter what I know about what you've been getting back from Retrospec. Because I love you, and I don't want to lose you.
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he’s lost on what to say and feels like fighting, after everything— is a little pointless.
it breaks him and he doesn’t want to feel so broken, so lonely when he wasn’t. he was surrounded by people who loved him. elliot, clover, lina, it didn’t matter— they should. ]
—Try and reboot.
[ the phone, he means, but his demeanor is clear: he’s hurt, but he’s accepting. he has to give this up. he has to get somewhere he feels free and alive again. ]
Then we’ll talk. I promise.
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[she knows she's overthinking it. she can think about how she's overthinking it so badly while the slider to turn her phone off comes up on the screen and she manually shuts the entire thing down. or she can say something to him.]
I'm sorry. I hope that wasn't too much.
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. . . It’s what I need.
[ but, damn is it a difficult thing to fight against. even now he wishes he could simply stop saying these things. but there is something there that is stronger, and tired. eren’s hand comes up to lina’s shoulder’s; there’s no grip and his weight is all on him, but he does want to. show something. ]
I don’t want to forget what that’s like.
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To have someone love you? Eren...
[she might be missing the point. her hand comes up to touch his arm as gently as she can anyway.]
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[ it’s not— that superficial, and runs a tad deeper than he would like to admit, but. if anything, he offers his arm to her, in a hook that she’s welcomed to take once they decide to walk. ]
I just don’t want to forget I don’t need to be alone.
[ not in this life. ]
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[the words come out quietly, and it's obvious to her right now that her own garbage doesn't matter. her own family problems aren't... they can be ignored. because her brother is hurting. she doesn't take his arm, using it instead as a handle to pull herself against Eren in a hug.]
[her phone is almost done rebooting but she doesn't want to pull away from him. if he'll even let her get that close in the first place. she doesn't want to focus on what she doesn't know how to handle. hugging her brother is easier.]
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he needs to change a lot of things. ]
I love you, too.
[ he hopes he can keep his word. ]